Let’s Not Forget

Adapting a novel into film or TV requires a ton of decisions. What parts of the book are most important? How can we reduce the cast size, or the number of locations, or do things practically or with effects to meet a budget. Things have to change for the new medium. But there are a few things that should never change. The most important of these is your main character. There are a ton of reasons readers fall in love with a story, but this is the beating heart of that relationship. You’ve got to nail your protagonist. With SILO, we hit the bullseye on day one by landing Rebecca Fergusson. But it wasn’t just signing her on as an actor — she declined the offer at first. It was when she came back with questions about Juliette — what made her tick, what made her different — that we knew we were in good hands. Apple hired Rebecca on as a producer, and she and I spent days getting to the core of Juliette’s character. The other thing you can’t mess up is theme. What’s this story about? Why…